GREENSBORO – For anyone wondering why North Carolina A&T men’s basketball coach Jerry Eaves schedules a team like Carver Bible College in January, the answer became clear Tuesday night. It took an extra five minutes before the Aggies were finally able to beat the Cougars 85-76 in overtime. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak for N.C. A&T. All eight losses came during an eight-game road trip.
“It takes a long time to get those losses out of your system,” said Eaves. “When you come off the road after losing seven or eight in a row, the mindset is not winning. I don’t care who you are. It’s very important to schedule these games so you can get the winning edge back on your shoulders before you go into the conference. This is nothing new for us. We normally start the New Year slow before we get it going.”
The game hopefully served to rid the Aggies of some bad habits before defending MEAC regular-season champion Bethune-Cookman heads into Corbett Sports Center Saturday afternoon at 4. The Aggies were just 4-for-19 from 3-point range, surrendered 19 offensive rebounds to the Cougars and were hit with two technical fouls.
The game turned in the Aggies favor when Austin Witter took a pass from Marc Hill and knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:31 remaining in overtime to give the Aggies a 76-71 lead. But even that was tarnished when Witter was hit with his second technical foul for taunting.
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